Beauty of the Philippines

El Nido Resorts once again won the Association of South East Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Green Hotel Award during the ASEAN Tourism Forum held in Brunei Darussalam.

El Nido Resorts selection was based on the random inspection of the resorts’ compliance to the ASEAN Green Hotel Standards, which focus on principles that promote sustainable tourism. In 2008, Lagen and Miniloc Island Resorts were also recipients of this eco-award.

Lagen Island Resort and Miniloc Island Resort, which was recently named by National Geographic “as the greenest lodge in Coral Triangle”, joined World Wide Fund’s (WWF) Coral Triangle Initiative Business Summit.

The Summit aims to secure the health of the Coral Triangle Region’s natural resources and the livelihoods that depend on it. Environment Officer Macy Anonuevo represented El Nido Resorts.

Last year, the El Nido Resorts were among those visited by WWF’s Coral Triangle Expedition headed by Jürgen and Stella Freund.

Other features of the El Nido Resorts is the newly-developed Dibuluan Beach Club located on a 38-hectare island near Lagen Island Resort.

The beach club, built on the side of the island facing mainland El Nido, is 15-minutes away from Lagen Island Resort and 30-minutes away from Miniloc Island Resort. It has two main beaches and several smaller beaches perfect for sunbathing and unique private picnic lunches.

The calm water surrounding the island makes the new beach club perfect for water sports such as hobiecat sailing, windsurfing, aqua biking, and kayaking. Other activities offered at Dibuluan Beach Club are diving, snorkeling, and hiking.

Meanwhile, five nests containing sea turtle eggs have been found by El Nido Resorts’ staff and guests at different beaches around Bacuit Bay. The five nests, composed of approximately 250 eggs, were found in the shores of Lagen, Pangulasian, Dilumacad and Miniloc Islands.

During nesting season, occurring mainly between September and January, female sea turtles return to the beach where they hatched to lay their eggs. It takes approximately two months of incubation under the sand until the eggs hatch. During this time, the eggs are vulnerable to predation by monitor lizards, dogs, crabs, birds and humans. The majority of the nests were actually discovered because monitor lizards had started feasting on the eggs.

To secure the eggs found, El Nido Resorts’ staff barricaded the nests to keep predators away; others were transferred to safer locations with less threats of predation. Some of the eggs discovered will start to hatch this January. The hatchlings will be released in the wild immediately after hatching, and hopefully, majority will survive into adulthood so that they may return to the same beaches they were found to lay their own eggs.

 

Related posts:

1. El Nido wins Int’l award for responsible tourism
2. Discovery Shores Boracay is one of Asia’s best resorts
3. Philippines is host of the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity
4. Mount Kitanglad named an ASEAN Heritage Park
5. Pinoy student tops ASEAN Multimedia title

 

 

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